No leader enters a role hoping to fire people. Yet at some point, every leader faces it. Sometimes because #performance is not improving or because the business changes and budgets shrink. Either way, involuntary exits test not only your leadership skills but also your integrity. This is part 2 of a two-part series. Check out last week's post for part 1 on voluntary exits. Performance based exits ✔️Step 1: Understand the legal background Performance management must sit on a s

Few things test a leader more than watching a valued team member walk out the door. This is part 1 of a two-part series - today we focus on voluntary exits (i.e. a team member hands you their notice). Next week we’ll tackle the equally challenging involuntary exits. 🔎Spot the early signs No leader can control someone else’s #career choices, but, you can tune into the signals that someone might be considering a #change: Drop in engagement or curiosity Reduced participation in

Everyone talks about “investing in people.” But when it comes to actual learning and development, too many leaders tick a box and move on. Maybe you have a learning budget or maybe your #team even attended a workshop last year. That's a great start but not a real investment. Especially not when McKinsey’s research shows that demand for advanced #tech #skills could rise by almost 90% by 2030. And it’s not just technical know-how but social, emotional, and critical thinking ski

Most people only think about personal branding when they’re job hunting or promoting a business. But your brand is bigger than that. I'm sure you’ve heard the classic line: a brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room. In other words, your reputation. Philosopher Gloria Origgi even calls reputation a form of currency. And like any currency, you either manage it wisely or let it lose value. Regardless of how important your reputation is as a leader, I'm de

Every #hiring decision feels urgent. Which is why many leaders skip the first, most important question: Where should I look? Inside the...

Disclaimer: the purpose of this post is NOT to stress you out but to prepare you. You can keep reading, it's safe (and optimistic!) For...

By now, you’re probably sick of reading about AI. I am too. Most of the content about AI is either written by AI or written by someone trying to convince you it’s the second coming of electricity. Revolutionary as it is, I want to explore a slightly different angle and something far more personal: the moral choices leaders face when deciding where AI belongs in their day-to-day #work. AI is great at certain things. Summarizing a meeting transcript so you can focus on listenin

It's a buyer's market out there folks, which means that, most hiring managers (think they) can afford hiring unicorns and other mythical...

Amazon, Dell, JPMorgan Chase are only a few notable names with a strict RTO mandate in 2025. Companies around the globe are calling their...

Who do you think gets promoted faster? 👤 Person 1: Charismatic, confident, quick on their feet. The life of the party, thrives in chaos,...

📖 Story time: A few years ago, I worked at a tech company headquartered in London. One of our most respected colleagues wasn’t a...

In a recent conversation, a leader told me, "Exciting problems have boring solutions" and it stuck with me. Because it’s true and it’s...

Most of us have had to deal with the leader who, when challenged, pulls out the "Because I said so" card. They remind everyone of their...

Hiring the right #talent has become increasingly challenging. There are fewer roles, but the stakes are higher - every new #hire needs to...

A lot has been written and said about how to scale an organization effectively. But, after having supported fast growing scale-ups for...

Emotional regulation is the ability to manage one’s emotions effectively - modulating their intensity, duration, and expression in a way...

In my 16 years in HR, I've participated and managed countless #performance cycles for multiple organizations of various sizes. But, I've...

Understanding startups, scale-ups, and SMBs Let’s first start by understanding the difference between startups, scale-ups and SMBs:...

"Brain rot" is Oxford’s Word of the Year for 2024. But honestly, it’s been the unofficial slogan of repetitive, soul-crushing work for...

The conventional wisdom says:  "Never share your salary expectations first."  But as a career coach with extensive HR experience, I’ve...